Madeira Island

Madeira island is a destination of captivating natural beauty, with exuberant vegetation, temperate climate (average low and high temperatures are 16ºC and 23ºC respectively) and very pleasant seawater temperatures (never below 17ºC). Combining natural beauty of landscape with excellent cuisine and fine wines, as well as high quality of service in hotels, Madeira is one of the favourite destinations in Europe. Annually, about one million tourists visit Madeira (the equivalent of 5.7 million nights).Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries provide the vast majority of the visitors (more than 80%). The recent availability of low-cost flights has resulted in the growth of the tourism sector in Madeira, presenting opportunities to communicate with new markets.

Madeira became known to Russians in the mid-nineteenth century, when ships sailing from Saint Petersburg to South America or South Africa had to stop at Funchal to take on provisions and fresh water. Prominent Russians such as the painter Karl Briulov, the writer Alexander Goncharov, author of the novel Oblomov, or Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the son of emperor Alexander II and empress Maria Alexandrovna, visited Madeira.